Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue (often abbreviated as PRLR) was the eighth incarnation of the Power Rangers TV series, based on the Super Sentai series Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. It was the first incarnation of Power Rangers to have the Rangers' identities be known to public from the onset, as opposed to previous incarnations where a Ranger's identity was to be kept secret, revealed only in extreme circumstances, and the series is unique in the fact that it was the first where the Rangers' powers, Zords and weapons were man-made and had no mystical origin whatsoever (both of these traits would be repeated in Power Rangers: S.P.D. and Power Rangers: RPM). Lightspeed Rescue also had, for the first time, a Power Ranger with no Super Sentai counterpart in the Titanium Lightspeed Ranger, as there was no 6th Ranger at all in GoGo V. The next series to feature the main villain from its Super Sentai counterpart would be the Disney-produced Power Rangers Mystic Force, which premiered six years later. Synopsis Lightspeed Rescue takes place in the fictitious city of Mariner Bay, California, which was built on an ancient demon burial ground. When the demons threaten to rise again, a government organization called Lightspeed, headed by one Captain Mitchell recruits four civilians and his own daughter to defend the city. Each of the four civilians chosen had a special area of expertise: Carter Grayson, the Red Lightspeed Ranger, was a fire fighter in the local fire department; Chad Lee, the Blue Lightspeed Ranger, worked as a lifeguard and marine animal trainer at a local marine amusement park; Joel Rawlings, the Green Lightspeed Ranger, was a stunt pilot; Kelsey Winslow, the Yellow Lightspeed Ranger, was an extreme sports athlete; and Dana Mitchell, the Pink Lightspeed Ranger, was a nurse and practiced medical arts. The five Power Rangers were aided by a team of scientists and engineers led by Miss Angela Fairweather, and operated out of the Lightspeed Aquabase, an underwater military compound that also served to deter the hydrophobic demons from attacking the base directly. The five Rangers would be joined by Captain Mitchell's (long thought to be dead) son, Ryan Mitchell. Together, the six Rangers would prevail against the demon forces time after time, culminating in a final showdown where, in the Power Rangers tradition, much of the weapons and other equipment that was used by the Power Rangers over the series was destroyed. In addition, Lightspeed Rescue featured a cameo reappearance of characters from Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, when the villainess Trakeena comes to Earth to destroy it and the Lightspeed Rangers team up with the Galaxy Rangers Characters Rangers Allies *Aquabase Staff **Captain Mitchell **Angela Fairweather *Neptune *Marina *Galaxy Rangers *Time Force Rangers Villains Demons *Diabolico *Loki *Vypra *Jinxer *Impus/Prince Olympius *Troika Monsters **Trika (fused form of Demonite, Thunderon, and Falkar) ***Demonite ***Thunderon ***Falkar *Queen Bansheera *Batlings *List of Lightspeed Monsters Guest Villains *Trakeena *Triskull *Ghouls *Cyborg Rangers Arsenal Zords Episodes VHS/DVD Releases VHS *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (VHS) **''Operation Lightspeed'' **''Lightspeed Teamwork'' **''Trial By Fire'' *Power Rangers in 3D **''Trakeena's Revenge, Part 1 & 2'' *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: Titanium Ranger Curse of the Cobra **''Ryan's Destiny'' **''Curse of the Cobra'' **''Strength of the Sun'' **''The Cobra Strike'' *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: The Queen's Wrath **''Wrath of the Queen'' **''Rise of the Super Demons'' **''The Fate of Lightspeed, Part 1 & 2'' *Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: Neptune's Daughter **''Ocean Blue'' **''The Fifth Crystal'' **''Neptune's Daughter'' DVD * Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (Complete Season) RC2 *The Best of the Power Rangers: The Ultimate Rangers **''Trakeena's Revenge, Part 1 & 2'' *Power Rangers Seasons 8-12 (Lightspeed Rescue to Dino Thunder) Production/Reception Lightspeed Rescue was the first Power Ranger season to be truly independent of previous seasons and unlike its predecessor (Lost Galaxy, which is often described as a "in between" season because of its characters' connections to the "Zordon Era"), did not include any familiar staying characters such as a unit from the Lexion Alpha line, Bulk, Skull or NASADA, with the exception of its Team Up episode with the Galaxy Rangers. Fan reception of Lightspeed Rescue was initially one of sheer derision, however, cases made by some of its more passionate fans, coupled with former critics becoming more respectable of it through repeated viewings, have helped to redeem the season's reputation. Several fans and critics of the season also agree that The Fate of Lightspeed is one of Power Rangers' most gripping finales. Notes *This is the first Power Rangers series in which the Green and Blue Rangers, not just the Red Ranger, receive Battlizers or equipment very close to one. *This was the first Power Ranger series where all the individual Rangers had professions before becoming Power Rangers. *This series is the second to feature siblings (Dana and Ryan Mitchell, the Pink and Titanium Rangers) serving on the same team (the first being Lost Galaxy, with Leo and Mike Corbett as the Red Galaxy Ranger and the second Magna Defender, respectively). It should be noted, though, that Andros and Karone (who are brother and sister) have been Rangers before. However, they were Rangers on seperate teams (Andros in In Space, Karone in Lost Galaxy). *This season posseses many elements similar to that of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season one. Such as an evil Sixth Ranger who later joins the team, a close friendship between the Yellow and Blue Rangers, a significant relationship between the Pink and Sixth Rangers(in MMPR they are a couple, in PRLR they are siblings) and one of the rangers being romantically involved with a character named Angela. *Amy Miller did not reprise her role as Trakeena for the team up episodes. The voice of the Red Galaxy Ranger was also dubbed by someone other than Danny Slavin at some points throughout the two episodes. * Titanium Ranger is the first full-on exclusive made-for-Power Rangers ranger designed by PLEX. The reason behind Titanium Ranger's long absence and losing his powers was the lack of footage, since he didn't exist in GoGo V, and making new footage only for him as well as using Sentai footage of the main 5 Rangers during the whole season would have caused the series to go over-budget. *Lightspeed Rescue is one of the few Power Rangers series to keep the Sentai term for part of the Rangers' arsenal. In this case, the term "V-Lancer" was brought over from GoGo V. *This is the first series that the Rangers team's opaque visor can be opened followed by Power Rangers: Ninja Storm. GoGo V featured scenes in which the heroes' faces could be seen through their visors, though most of these scenes were removed. There are, however, rare moments in which you can see one of the Tatsumi siblings' faces. *This is the first season where the Rangers identities were known to the public. *This is the first season wherein the team members' full names are credited. *In the episode "Curse Of The Cobra", a scene features the Rangers passing by a building that had flames coming out of it. Later in 2003 due to 9/11, Disney cut the scene during their reruns of the episode. *At the beginning of "Up To The Challenge", Chad is trying to teach Kelsey how to do Tai Chi at a temple-like building. This building shows up in the first episode of another of Saban's works called . *It is the first season to not include Farkas Bulkmeier. *This is the first series to have trains for zords. *Two of Lightspeed Rescue's cast members, Michael Chaturantabut and Keith Robinson, have both co-starred alongside singer Beyoncé Knowles, in "Austin Power: Goldmember" and "Dreamgirls" respectively. *This is the first time the five Rangers were complete strangers before becoming Power Rangers. See also External links * Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers - The Official Power Rangers Website